First Look: Taapsee Pannu to play 'Rashmi Rocket' in her next

Mumbai: Set in the salt marshes of Kutch, Rashmi Rocket is about a young girl from a village, blessed with a gift. She's an incredibly fast runner. The village fondly knows her as Rocket. When she gets a chance to showcase her talent professionally, she jumps at the opportunity, only to realize that the race to the finish line is peppered with many hurdles, and what seems like an athletic contest turns into her personal battle for respect, honour, and even her very identity. The film will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Neha Anand and Pranjal Khandhdiya.

Rashmi Rocket which is based on an original story by Nanda Periyasamy will be directed by Akarsh Khurana and stars Taapsee Pannu in the lead. It will hit theatres early next year. The screenplay for this film will be written by Aniruddha Guha.

“The birth of this project happened over two lovely lunches in Florence. Taapsee was there for a film festival with Manmarziyaan and Mulk. I was at the same festival representing RSVP with Karwaan. We saw each other's films, had some great food, and jammed over an idea that she had. The film already had Pranjal on board, and I shared the idea with Ronnie. RSVP is like a second home to me and I couldn’t be happier to be collaborating with their team to tell this most fascinating story," said Akarsh the director.

“This story instantly hit the right chord when I heard the idea. One of those few films I was waiting to be developed into a script for me to do. Funnily I have been made to run in almost every film I have done of every other genre but this time it’s going to be an out and out athlete’s story. What excited me most was the human drama that unfolds in her life which makes it much more than a regular story of an athlete,” adds Taapsee.

“India is a country filled with immensely talented youth, that often goes unnoticed or cannot achieve their true potential thanks to the obstacles society and the system throws at them. Rashmi rocket is a story about a girl that achieves and conquers in her field despite all the adversities that come her way. I can’t think of anyone better than Tapsee to play this character. This is a sportspersons story that needs to be said with a certain level of sensitivity and no one better than Akarsh to helm this,” says Ronnie Screwvala.

“Rashmi Rocket is not a sports person’s biopic. It’s a human story that highlights misogyny in sports and the challenges faced by female athletes,” says Pranjal Khandhdiya from Mango People Media Network.